This "virtual newspaper for an aquatic world" contains musings, science, facts and opinions-both profound and mundane-about the River region, its people and natural resources, and their nexus to the Washington, DC scene.
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Friday, November 14, 2014

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Most of the Water News - None of the Spin~

House Passes Bill to Reauthorize National Estuaries Programs

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary
(click to enlarge)

On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2566, a bill "to reauthorize the National Estuary Programs," the U.S. EPA's suite of individual programs designed to improve the quality of estuaries of national importance, including the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary complex: an estuary system that encompasses 4.2 million acres of wetlands, ridges, forests, farmlands and communities (including New Orleans and Baton Rouge) between the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River in southeastern Louisiana. The bill was passed on a voice vote. If passed by the Senate, H.R. 5266 would reduce funding for the Programs from $35 million to $27 million annually through fiscal year 2018. The bill would also limit the funding that can be spent on overhead costs, and specifies specific issues to be addressed through the Program's competitive grant provision, including low dissolved oxygen conditions and related nutrient management, flooding, harmful algal blooms and invasive species. The Senate could possibly take up H.R. 5266 as passed by the House, or it could vote on a related "Clean Estuaries Act of 2014," S. 2042, introduced in February. That Senate reauthorization bill would maintain funding at its current level, and make some targeted changes to the Programs, mostly centering on the management of the initiative.

This Week and Next
Today is the last day to comment on the Obama Administration’s proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule, and the past week saw a flurry of comments submitted, along with related media releases, on opposing sides of the issue. There was also quite a bit of Gulf Coast-related news, along with some new lame duck, federal legislative activity of note. The week even saw the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA disagreeing with The Weather Channel over how good a place that New Orleans is to own a home. We’ve selected the best bits of it all for your morning education and entertainment, and organized them below. But if you prefer a bite-sized, one-paragraph version of the news, see “What We Learned This Week: Turn Left on Red,’” which is designed to be easily consumed before downing your first cup of morning coffee.

Next week should see the U.S. Senate vote on S. 2280, a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would largely run through several Missouri and Lower Mississippi River watershed states. The House is voting today (Friday) on a companion bill (H.R. 5682), and almost-assuredly will pass the measure. Our weekly outlook of next week’s other River Basin-related Capitol Hill activity is summarized (and updated, as needed) here.

Corn and soybean 2014 harvest numbers now favor prices that will be profitable for producers in 2015-16 http://ow.ly/EaWqP

GAO: the Food and Drug Administration's fruit and vegetable pesticide testing program is not "statistically valid" http://ow.ly/EaYmD

U.S. agricultural companies reach agreement with farm groups on principles governing the companies’ use of crop data http://ow.ly/Ed1zX

Farmland values declined across much of the Midwest in the third quarter, continuing a slowdown http://ow.ly/Egs61 (Also see: U.S. Midwest farmland values steady, weakness seen ahead http://ow.ly/Egss8)